


Let's Make Things Physical

by vivaglam



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-01
Updated: 2013-05-28
Packaged: 2017-12-07 05:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/744593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivaglam/pseuds/vivaglam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"That she should have walked three miles so early in the day, in such dirty weather, and by herself, was almost incredible to Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and Elizabeth was convinced that they held her in contempt for it. She was received, however, very politely by them; and in their brother's manners there was something better than politeness; there was good humour and kindness. Mr. Darcy said very little, and Mr. Hurst nothing at all. The former was divided between admiration of the brilliancy which exercise had given to her complexion, and doubt as to the occasion's justifying her coming so far alone. The latter was thinking only of his breakfast."</p><p>But LBD-style.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Here comes the heat, before we meet

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This takes place immediately after the filming of episode 31, “Convertible Carpool.”
> 
> Titles comes from Tegan & Sara’s “Closer,” which is the song I pictured Lizzie singing. Which makes the situation all the more ironic, considering the lyrics ☺ (though, upon further consideration, I'm not entirely sure if that song was out yet at the time episode 31 was posted... hmm...)

“I swear, every time I’m in a room with that man, he STARES at me, CONSTANTLY. It’s like I’m a traffic accident and he JUST CAN’T LOOK AWAY.”

It had already been a good fifteen or twenty minutes since she’d shut off her camera, but her last statement about Darcy stuck in her head. Why DID he stare at her so much? Was her very presence so offensive to him that he could think of nothing else? And why did she let it get to her so much?

The others had left for their wine-tasting excursion, and though she had the entire _very large_ house to herself for the moment, Lizzie was feeling a bit restless. She felt the urge to get out, but not having anywhere specific to go, she decided instead that she would go for a quick run.

Lizzie wasn’t much of a runner (in fact, she usually stuck to walking), but sometimes she just really needed to clear her head. And after having spent two weeks under the same roof as Darcy (not to mention the World’s Most Agreeable Couple), a run sounded like a good idea - the others should be gone for hours, so there would be no one to see her red-faced and sweaty when she returned.

Lizzie grabs a bottle of water from the refrigerator and puts in her earbuds before leaving. For a second she is startled, because she thinks she hears a door open and close, but when no signs of life emerge, she shrugs and heads out the side door. Clearly living at Netherfield has put her on edge.

 

About fifty minutes later, Lizzie stumbles somewhat through the Netherfield front door. Whatever made her think that going for a run in the middle of the day in July was a good idea? Despite spending a good portion of her time walking, she does manage to get in three miles, and the blast of air conditioning is a welcome sensation. Stopping by the kitchen, she splashes a few handfuls of water on her face. She ends up a bit of a mess as water drips down her neck and soaks through her white tank top, but it feels good after being out in the heat.

Turning a corner, Lizzie is humming a song from her playlist and wiping her face with the bottom of her shirt when she runs face-first into a wall. A six-foot, socially awkward, highly unpleasant wall.

“Lizzie - “

“Darcy. I didn’t know you were back.”

Lizzie notices his gaze dropping a few inches repeatedly before snapping back up to her face, and she feels her face turn even redder. She is almost certain that he got an eyeful of her torso before she had dropped the hem of her shirt, and she is also painfully aware of the sheerness of the fabric due to the wetness. He must be _aghast_ at seeing her in such a state - face flushed from the heat and sunlight, pools of sweat and water soaking through her shirt. She folds her arms across her chest, determined not to give him the satisfaction of finding further fault with her.

She can see his posture stiffening as he turns away slightly, looking at the ground. Clearly he is disgusted with her appearance and can’t even stand to look at her. She must seem highly improper. (Not that she cares or anything.) “I decided not to accompany the others after all and remained here to get some work done instead.”

“Right. Of course you did.” No surprise there - Darcy doesn’t like people. Of course he would give up the opportunity for a beautiful, scenic drive with his friends in favor of holing himself up with his computer.

His eyes return to her face, and for a second, his expression is inscrutable. “Well... I am sure I am keeping you from a much-needed shower.” He pauses awkwardly, and Lizzie wonders if this is his way of telling her that she smells bad. “I will see you for dinner?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you later.”

Lizzie starts walking down the hall towards her room, feeling his eyes on her back the entire way. She is glad that the encounter is over, but she can’t shake the feeling - the tiny, nagging feeling - that maybe she wants him to stare. Just a little bit. She entertains the thought for just a split second before she pushes it away, back into a far corner of her mind. It’s _Darcy_ , after all. He’s probably just looking for something to hold against her.


	2. I'm the type who won't get oh-so-critical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The other side of the story.

William shouldn’t have been surprised that Lizzie didn’t want to come with them, but he still felt a pang of disappointment when Caroline and Bing - _just_ Caroline and Bing - emerged from the house.

“Where’s Lizzie?” Jane asked from the front seat.

“She wasn’t really feeling up to it,” Caroline explained, a little too smugly for his liking. “Hey, since it’s just the four of us now, we can take the convertible.”

William imagined an afternoon of being deserted with Caroline and enduring her attempts to ingratiate herself with him, and the decision was made in an instant.

“Actually, it’ll be just the three of you. I think I will end up staying behind as well.”

Caroline’s eyes narrowed infinitesimally, but she said nothing.

“Darcy, come on. Come with us,” Bing urged.

“I just remembered that I have some reports I need to go through for tomorrow. It would be a more prudent use of my time to stay home and get some work done.” He tossed Bing the keys to his rental. “Really. Have a good time.”

“Well, okay. Maybe you can keep Lizzie company,” Bing said, leading Caroline and Jane over to the other car, before anyone else had the chance to bow out. Caroline looked seriously displeased.

William said nothing.

 

He was intrigued at the idea of being alone in the house with Lizzie, and deliberated whether or not to knock on her door. At one point, he even _started_ to leave his room, but then thought the better of it, and ducked back inside.

He threw himself into his work instead, finding that it was a welcome distraction from the persistent image of Lizzie, and the way her eyes would flash during their conversations, that kept trying to creep into his mind. The truth was that she fascinated him; he’d never met anyone like her before. And especially what with the other inhabitants of this house being particularly keen on being as agreeable as possible, Lizzie was a breath of fresh air. He liked that she was never afraid to challenge him and debate him. In fact, he was starting to find that it was... quite a turn-on.

It was time for a drink. He happened to know that Bing kept a particularly good bottle of scotch in his liquor cabinet, and resolved to pour himself a glass.

As he left his room, he suddenly wondered where Lizzie was and if she was even home, since he hadn’t heard a sound for almost an hour. He was debating again whether to go check her room when the object of his thoughts suddenly materialized before him. And then walked straight into his chest.

“Lizzie - “

She was as he’d never seen her. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, her bangs plastered to her forehead with what he perceived was sweat. Her face had the attractive glow of exertion, and even her eyes seemed brightened by the exercise. He knew he should stop staring at her eyes, but if he were to allow his eyes to wander _below_ her neck... well, then there was the matter of her bra, which he could see clear as day through her wet tank top (which was rather low-cut to boot), and of the smooth creaminess of her stomach, which he had glimpsed while she was dabbing at her face with her shirt, before she covered herself back up again. He really wasn’t sure _where_ to look because everything about her right at that moment was drawing him in.

“Darcy. I didn’t know you were back.”

She looked at him expectantly, folding her arms in front of her chest. This only had the effect of... _emphasizing_ it more, and this time he even had to turn away and hope that she did not notice him stiffening in response to the sight of her standing there, her sweat-soaked clothing hugging the gentle curves of her body, her lips parted and breath slightly ragged from her workout... If she could read his thoughts right now, he would probably get slapped. _Hard_.

“I decided not to accompany the others after all and remained here to get some work done instead.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

“Right. Of course you did.”

Looking into her eyes, he was suddenly worried that she really _could_ read his rather inappropriate thoughts. Her tone seemed to imply that she suspected he had other reasons for staying behind. He found himself getting pulled in by the soft blue... and immediately tried to shake it off.

“Well... I am sure I am keeping you from a much-needed shower.” The image of Lizzie Bennet in the shower suddenly popped into his head, and it very nearly caused him to come undone. “I will see you for dinner?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you later.” And with a perfunctory nod of her head, she was gone.

He watched her as she walked away and found himself struck with a feeling of _wanting_ \- not just sexually (although that was definitely on his mind as well), but also emotionally. He wanted her to come back and talk to him. He wanted to know more about her - what she liked, what she disliked. How she took her coffee. Where she saw herself in a year or five years. Whether she preferred making love at night or first thing in the morning... or both...

William grabbed the entire bottle of scotch and took it back to his room with him. If Bing noticed it was missing, he didn’t bring it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	3. A little bit closer...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie and William reminisce a year later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got around to adding a third chapter. Just some fluffy fluff because it's been two months since LBD ended and I'm still having withdrawals...

“Seriously, Gigi?” Lizzie groaned one Saturday morning in August.

 

“Lizzie, it’ll be fun!” the younger girl insisted, blue eyes flashing.

 

Next to Lizzie, William’s eyes, a shade of blue identical to his sister’s, hinted at amusement, though the rest of his face betrayed nothing as he sipped his coffee.

 

“A _triathlon_?”

 

“A triathlon _relay_ ,” Gigi explained. “Each person takes on a different leg of the race. I can handle the swimming part, William is awesome at cycling, and you can run.”

 

“But that would require actual, you know, _running_ ,” Lizzie whined. “What makes you think I can run a _race_? Especially alongside the disgustingly athletic Darcy siblings?”

 

“I can help you train! Just think about it, PLEASE? It would be really fun to do something like this together,” Gigi pleaded, finishing her last bite of toast before heading out for the day.

 

Lizzie knew she wasn’t going to be able to get out of this one. Once Gigi had her heart set on something, she usually got her way.

 

Of course, Lizzie had Gigi’s heart (and persistence) to thank for the fact that she was now having breakfast in the Darcy kitchen, wearing little more than William’s oversized pajama top, her bare legs stretched across his lap. He was absentmindedly stroking her calf as he read the paper, pausing only to readjust his glasses whenever they slid just a tad too far down his nose.

 

“I thought you actually were a runner,” William said after a while, setting down his paper.

 

“What?”

 

“I seem to recall seeing you after you had been out for a run at Netherfield last year.”

 

Lizzie laughed. “I remember that day! That was… embarrassing.”

 

“I would wager that it wasn’t half as embarrassing for you as it was for me.”

 

“What are you talking about? I was totally gross and sweaty, and you just looked _horrified_.”

 

“I was horrified at myself,” William replied.

 

“Really?” Lizzie’s brow furrowed in confusion, an expression William found endlessly adorable. “Why?”

 

William wasn’t the type to blush in embarrassment, so instead, he tucked his chin to his neck as he spoke. “I was terrified that you would see the… _effect…_ you were having on me.” He glanced meaningfully down at his lap before getting up to rinse out his coffee mug.

 

Lizzie laughed, joining him at the sink with her dishes. “Seriously? But I was so gross-looking! And _you_ looked like you couldn’t get away fast enough. I thought it must have been because I smelled really bad.”

 

William wiped his hands on a towel and then wrapped his arms around Lizzie’s waist from behind, resting his chin on her head. “I couldn’t get away fast enough because I was embarrassed.” His voice lowered seductively as he spoke softly into her ear. “You were wearing a white shirt that was soaked all the way through, and a lot of your skin was showing… you were flushed, and your breathing was a little heavier than usual… you were altogether _too_ enticing, Ms. Bennet.”

 

Lizzie turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I was _convinced_ you were disgusted with me, Mr. Darcy.”

 

“Believe me, it was quite the opposite,” he replied, kissing her deeply, pressing his body against hers.

 

As it turned out, running wasn’t the only physical activity that left Lizzie flushed and breathing heavily…


End file.
